– musings

Aha!

One of those “Aha” moments hit this morning while reading on existentialism and the absurd. From Thomas Nagel:

Why is the life of a mouse not absurd? The orbit of the moon is not absurd either, but that involves no striving or aim at all. A mouse, however, has to work to stay alive. Yet he is not absurd, because he lacks the capacities for self-consciousnes and self-transcendence that would enable him to see that he is only a mouse. If that did happen his life would become absurd since self-awareness would not make him cease to be a mouse and would not enable him to rise above his mousely strivings. Bringing his new-found self-consciousness with him, he would have to return to his meagre yet frantic life, full of doubts that he was unable to answer, but also full of purposes that he was unable to abandon”